Botox at just 20? How younger women than ever are using cosmetic treatment as a ‘preventative’ measure against early aging

Botox is becoming increasingly popular among 20-something women as a means of preventing their youthful skin from aging.

A study by ABC News found that the number of women in that age group using Botox – which temporarily paralyzes the muscles beneath the skin – has risen 10 per cent in just one year.

While the treatment at such a young age remains a point of debate, New Jersey-based dermatologist Dr Jeanine Downie admits that starting early has the advantage of preventing wrinkles from occurring altogether.

Rising trend: More women in their early twenties are getting Botox to prevent their skin from developing wrinkles. In fact, the number of Botox recipients in that age group increased by ten percent from 2011 to 2012

‘If you don’t crease the envelope, you’ll never get the line, you’ll never have the crack or the crease,’ explained Dr Downie, who prefers giving the injections only to women over 30 and started using Botox herself in her early thirties.

Still, other experts claim the treatments do more harm than good. The president of the British Association of Plastic Surgeons, for example, refuses to give Botox to women under 30.

And last month, a review by German researchers, published in the Journal of Neural Transmission, found that many women who over-use the injections – which cost around $200 per session – are developing an immunity.

Young and wrinkle-free: Claribel Vega, 23, started getting Botox injections to treat her migraines, but now she says she plans on continuing to get them because they eliminated the lines on her forehead

But the precautions of medical professionals haven’t stopped young women from flocking to get the injections.

‘I had one or two wrinkles starting to come out on my forehead. But after the Botox, I didn’t see it at all’

In fact, of the 6.1million Botox injections that were performed in 2012, almost 100,000 were for patients in their twenties – a 10 per cent increase in that age group since 2011.

One such Botox enthusiast is 23-year-old Claribel Vega.

‘I had one or two wrinkles starting to come out on my forehead,’ she explained. ‘But after the Botox, I didn’t see it at all.’

What started out as treatment for her migraines has turned into a beauty routine that Miss Vega plans to continue as she gets older, to keep her skin looking youthful.

Advantage: Dr Jeanine Downie, a New Jersey-based dermatologist, said that starting Botox early can prevent wrinkles from happening altogether. ‘If you don’t crease the envelope, you’ll never get the line,’ she explained

Another fan of the injections told ABC News: ‘It’s like getting a haircut, it makes you feel better!’

Dr Downie said it is by no means uncommon to see women in their twenties getting Botox injections on a regular basis.

‘I have a lot of 27- and 28-year-olds, especially ex-tanners who smoke, that I do pretty consistently every three to four months,’ she said.

But clinical psychologist Dr Nanine Ewing warns that getting Botox at a young age can potentially be damaging to the psyche, if it develops into an addiction.

‘Women who begin that really early can get caught up in needing more and more and continuing to seek that external sense of how am I doing, is this enough,’ she told ABC News Houston.